From my own experience, business metrics are in constant use by our
HR department regarding internal communication initiatives. Some of
the key considerations that drive organizations to put in place
business metrics is to improve upon their internal operations or
business structure, and who better to give them feedback/action
items than their very own employees. Some of these metrics used by
organizations can track employee retention, employee satisfaction,
etc. (Klipfolio, 2023). At my employer, they use a lot of business
metrics (like surveys, interactive interviews, etc.) to be able to
effectively measure the employee satisfaction of the current benefits
that are in place. In turn, they use these results to better refine areas
of the benefits where employees rank higher/lower in terms of
importance. Well-ran businesses put a lot of emphasis on placing
metrics within internal communication as it usually results in a better
work environment for their employees. In comparison to external
communications initiative, business metrics put into place for external
measurement usually differ in the fact that the organization is
ultimately trying to maximize returns in any way possible. "...the point
of measuring communication is to have a basis on which to take
action," (Herman, 2023). Companies are using metrics like net profit,
gross margin, return on equity, etc. to better their operational
effectiveness and compare themselves with competitors in the
industry. They use these metrics to produce action items and better
their business results, which is a similarity between the use of
business metrics internally as both are gathering data for the
organization to analyze and act upon. The business environment the
company operates in is a significant consideration when choosing the
right metrics. I work for a specialty insurance company, so utilizing
metrics for social media, inventory, online applications/orders, etc.
are not the most efficient metrics to use as that is not where the
focus of my company is at. At the company, we tend to use metrics
for gross written premiums, loss ratios, expense ratios, combined
ratios, etc. These business metrics allow us to better indicate action
items that we can move forward with to improve upon operations.
Sources:
Herman, M. (2023). 10 Metrics and KPIs for Internal
Communications.
https://www.lumapps.com/internal-communication/metrics-kpis-
